Old Routes of Japan: Tracking down Japan off the beaten path from the eyes of a Japanese native

Just want to let you know that, if you are a first timer to Japan and considers seeing Mt.Fuji for a day trip, check out the map. Just in case your private tour is cancelled, when weather permits, other than famous Fujiyoshida/Kawaguchiko area, there are plenty of places you can just hop on a train and go see Mt.Fuji.  I colored yellow on the map roughly where you can see Mt.Fuji. Note that even outside areas I marked, there are plenty of spots where you can see Mt.Fuji. Also note that parts of west of Mt.Fuji have disadvantages due to high mountains such as Minobu, but if you hike up to the peak or on western side of Fuji river, you have better chance to see Mt.Fuji.  South of Izu peninsula has disadvantages due to mountain ranges of Amagi.  East of Mt.Fuji where you can see Mt.Fuji. This is not a perfect guide as there are many spots on the map outside yellow parts that you can see Mt.Fuji.  Tokyo area where you can see Mt.Fuji. Tokyo area is tricky as there are ma...

Before getting to Mishima, I am giving you a brief summary of Hakone-Mishima route. It’s long.  The traffic in the following part of Tokaido is suspended due to the damage by a typhoon, at the point of my blog.(4/2025).  So you don’t get to Kabutoishi-zaka part.  On your way down, there is Yamanaka castle ruins. It’s a medieval castle that belonged to Hojo clan in Odawara. Lord Hideyoshi Toyotomi conquered this castle in half day in 15 90 battle. Hideyoshi side had 70,000 soldiers while Hojo side in this castle only had 4,000.  And on the center left, you see the picture of Mishima Skywalk, a famous suspension bridge with zip line.  A close look at Yamanaka castle is like the picture on the left.  Tokaido Highway is going around the castle area. Circled ones are the castle tower ruin and the main fortress. Parts of castle is across the route.  After the castle, at a sharp downhill curve off from R-1, there is a monument of haiku master Basho Matsuo....

I just modified my blog title as “Old Routes of Japan: Tracking down Japan off the beaten paths from the eyes of a Japanese native”.  Basically, nothing will change.  I’m just having a fun tracking down Japan’s old routes.  Also, I started making a few more changes.  I started adding yellow arrow on the map to show the actual old routes. And I also marked notable spots with either green or red circles.  There are pictures that I have not marked yet, but I am slowly working on these.  Tracking down old routes are fun in general. However, not all the spots are fun because you hardly see what these spots used to look like, and/or you don’t see series of old houses like the ones in Kyoto, Takayama and Tsumago. But these “not-so-fun” spots are still necessary to be noted, because otherwise people will forget the historical foundations of these spots.  And I do not feature one particular spot like “This is a must-visit place!” because the concepts of “must-v...

Kooriyama inn town is located in Ibaraki city of Osaka prefecture, not to be confused with IBARAKI PREFECTURE in east of Tokyo! On top of it, there are several “Kooriyama” throughout Japan, and this is one of the least known ones.  When I researched Kooriyama inn town, other than preserved Honjin inn, all I found were ancient tombs, and the former residence of Yasunari Kawabata, known for his novel “The Dancing Girl of Izu”.  Are there anything else we can find? Let’s get on the trail!  First, about 1.5km from Kooriyama inn town Honjin, there is a monument of 1571 battle of Shiraigawara. This was a historical battle of Murashige Araki, Kiyohide Nakagawa vs Koremasa Wada and Shigetomo Ibaraki, which was recorded in the First European Descriptions of Japan(1585). The monument is right behind the fence at the center of the picture, So you cannot see it on this picture, unfortunately. I circled red on ancient tombs. At least there are 4 ancient tombs, probably built in 4-6th ...

 I just had to make several changes in my past postings due to potential copyright issues.  You will notice that some of pictures have been either removed or replaced. This is because I realized that not all Google map street views have been taken by Google. Some of street views have been posted by volunteer or paid contributors.  So I had to replaced these pictures to avoid potential copyright issues. Sorry! 

In this route if Hakone, Google map shows 3 Tokaido routes, which is confusing.  First, there are two National R-1s. R-1 bypass route goes further southeast down. And another R-1 comes down from Kowakudani, via Motohakone then joins again with old Tokaido route.  Second, it’s Kanagawa prefectural R-732 which goes parallel to old Tokaido route.  Then you see old Tokaido route aka 旧東海道(Kyu-Tokaido).  However, look at the next picture. There are two “Old Tokaido” routes.  I have not figured out how this happened. This is one of fun things to figure out by visiting Hakone and asking a local guide about.  Mountain part of Tokaido trail in Hakone is vastly untouched, or well-preserved. Cedar tree trail part(which I circled red), is definitely beautiful. There is no street view on this part, however, go online with “Tokaido Lake Ashi cedar tree” and you will find a lot of pictures and videos.  You eventually end up joining National R-1, then soon you are turn...

Hakone is one of the most popular tourist sites in Japan now. And it has been popular among Japanese for centuries for many reasons: hot springs, hiking trails, volcanic valley, great view of Mt.Fuji etc., but I will leave this part to my blog readers as you will find tons of info about Hakone.  Anyhow, let get on the trail!  The trail itself to Hakone inn town is one of the hardest on Tokaido route. Train only takes you up to Hakone Yumoto station by Hakone-Tozan railways. Hakone-Yumoto is a popular hot spring site. It’s a long uphill, and we pass by near Sounji temple, established in 1521 by Ujitsuna Hojo. Foliage season is gorgeous.  Tokaido goes through lots of onsen ryokans(inns with hot spring tub) and hotels. Right after passing by Oumiya ryokan, there is a path that goes downhill. This is the original Tokaido than continues to Hakone inn town. There is a small tub by the path. This place used to have 馬立場(Umatateba), which is a rest area for horses to drink water o...